Archive - Sports Article

December 21st

December 21, 2011

By

TERRY NAU

Looking back on the 2011 sports year, my most vivid memories relate to a Shea High boys soccer team that dazzled opponents with its talent, ball skills and exuberance for the sport.
The Raiders made soccer fun to watch, even for a traditional sports fan like myself who is more attuned to football than âfutbol.â

December 20th

December 21, 2011

PAWTUCKET â Make no mistake: Tolman made Shea earn its 60-55 victory Tuesday night at the Donaldson Gymnasium.
The Raiders were the dominant club for much of the way, building a 32-23 lead at halftime before going ahead by 17 points with eight minutes remaining. Thatâs when Tolman head coach Mike Kayata decided to switch defenses from man-to-man to a matchup zone that allowed the home team to make a spirited charge.

December 20, 2011

WOONSOCKET -- The senior class is one of its smallest in a number of years.
The number of players that graduated from last seasonâs Division II-North championship club, including six of the top eight scorers and one of the finest goaltenders in the teamâs history, was one of its largest.
And several players who are featured in key positions have little or no varsity experience.
But despite all this, Cumberland has been the talk of the division and the areaâs only team with a â0â in the loss column.

December 19th

December 19, 2011

LINCOLN â Joe Handy has been coaching long enough to know that when you take over a program for the first time the transition period isnât always going to be easy. With a new coach and a new system, itâs not always going to be smooth.
In his first year at Davies Tech after two decades at Central Falls, including 10 as the head coach, Handy experienced one of those lumps on Monday.

December 18th

December 18, 2011

PAWTUCKET â Defending Division III state champion Johnston/North Providence left Lynch Arena on Saturday night knowing that it has a fight on its hands the rest of this season with Tolman.
The upstart Tigers gave the JNP Co-Op squad all it could handle before losing 6-5 in overtime on a breakaway goal by Jon Alsfeld.

December 18, 2011

PROVIDENCE â He could have blamed fatigue from the basketball game the night before and the early-morning practice the next day.
He could have blamed the different footwear, a pair of spikes that were more than a full size smaller. He could have even blamed his lack of practice, which is none since last June.

December 18, 2011

WILLIMANTIC, Ct. â Cumberland High walked away with the team championship at Saturdayâs Lancer Invitational, crowning two individual champions and seeing a third wrestler, Erik Travers, have victory stolen away from him by some sloppy officiating.
Jon Maccini (138) and Tom Lacroix (195) claimed individual titles for the Clippers, who accumulated 220 team points to run away with the title over runnerup Southington (Ct.), which took second place with 166 points.

December 18, 2011

PAWTUCKET â Mike Kinch must consider Lynch Arena his home ice.
The Cumberland High senior, whose family has strong ties to Pawtucket, led the Clippers to a 5-2 victory over the SRA-PCD-Wheeler Co-Op team on Saturday night by scoring two goals and assisting on another.
âMikeâs a strong player who skates well and has a good shot,â Cumberland coach Mark Andreozzi said after the game. Kinch now has six goals and nine assists on the season, putting him near the top of the state in points scored.

December 16th

December 16, 2011

NORTH PROVIDENCE â A horrendous start to the second half doomed Tolman High on Friday night.
North Providenceâs fast-breaking attack seized control of the Division II opener for both sides thanks to rattling off 14 straight points to begin the second stanza. The surge paid off handsomely for the host Cougars, who would go on to win by a 64-54 count.
Tolman junior Juan Velez led all scorers with 23 points while classmate Jonathan Percy ruled down low with 17 points. The scoring dropped off considerably as the next high man for the Tigers was Mamour Samb, who finished with eight points.

December 15th

December 15, 2011

WARWICK â With his own special and unique brand of tough love, Ed Cooley consistently relays to suspended forward Kadeem Batts that he let the entire Providence College basketball program down.
âI let him know about it every single day by saying âThanks Kadeem, thanks,ââ said the PC coach on Thursday at the Radisson Hotel, site of the first Cox Sports R.I. Basketball Media Luncheon of the season. âWe donât hide anything.â

December 14th

December 14, 2011

Hereâs a look at the early state of affairs in hockeyâs three divisions âŠ
For most teams, a 1-2 start to a season usually doesnât mean much. For Mount St. Charles fans, MSCâs 1-2 start has some of them reaching for the panic button, especially since the four-time defending champions havenât began a Division I campaign with that mark since the mid-1970s.
Of course, two of their defeats have come to La Salle, which so far, looks like the team to beat. The Rams are 4-0, have outscored their opponents 27-4, and boast the divisionâs top three scorers.

December 14, 2011

âEveryone has to be ready. Everyone is in the same boat.â
Those words, echoed by East Providence head coach Alex Butler, shall serve as the equivalent to ringing the opening bell on Wall Street. Tonight will see the curtain raised on league play, which with the expansion of the open tournament and the doing away (at least for this season) of the division tournaments, has taken on even greater emphasis.

December 13th

December 13, 2011

PAWTUCKET â Short jumpers, three-pointers, lay-ups. It didnât matter. No matter what North Smithfield tossed up in its Division III matchup with host Shea on Tuesday night, nothing seemed to fall.
When you are inside the small and always-boisterous confines of âThe Cageâ against a Raider defense that always seems to play their opponents tough, victories are hard to come by when youâre having an off-night from the field.

December 13, 2011

Chris Iannettaâs âGet Out of Jail Freeâ card arrived two weeks ago when the St. Raphael Academy alumnus was acquired by the Los Angeles Angels to be their everyday catcher.
Relocating from the Rocky Mountains that adorn Colorado to sun-splashed Southern California has already reaped one major benefit for the 28-year-old. Keep in mind that Iannetta has yet to suit up for his new manager, but that didnât stop Mike Scioscia from lavishing praise upon his new catcher during last weekâs winter meetings.

December 12th

December 13, 2011

PROVIDENCE â The wins havenât exactly come against Murderersâ Row. Certainly thatâs food for thought with the Providence Friars in the midst of a 10-day exam period, Ed Cooleyâs first PC team standing at 9-2.

December 11th

December 11, 2011

PAWTUCKET â Sure, tournament bragging rights were on the line when Tolman and Shea met Saturday night in the finals of the James W. Donaldson Memorial Tip-Off Tournament, which is designed to pay homage to the memory of the longtime Tolman High teacher and coach. Itâs just that thereâs a whole other realm to take into account.

December 11, 2011

PAWTUCKET â For St. Raphael Academy, Saturdayâs game against Providence Country Day was merely a matter of surviving.
Playing for the third time in as many days, the Saints did just enough to squeeze out an 81-73 victory in the championship game of the Dennis M. Lynch Jr. Memorial Tournament.
Junior Charles Correa stole the show at the Pawtucket Boys & Girls Club on his way to earning tourney MVP honors, registering a game-high 30 points to go along with seven assists and five rebounds.

December 11, 2011

WARWICK â Tolman High took care of business on Saturday night, scoring early and often en route to an 8-0 victory over Warwick Veterans.
The Tigers struck just 14 seconds into the game when Ryan Pedro converted a pass from Ed Reall for a 1-0 lead. Kody Casavant then scored the next game less than one minute later. Ryan Deighan and Reall added goals to give Tolman a 4-0 lead after one period.

December 9th

December 9, 2011

CENTRAL FALLS â There were a fair share of turnovers and some sloppy play by both teams, something thatâs common for the first game of the season.
But after 32 minutes of basketball in Fridayâs non-leaguer between North Smithfield and host Central Fall, both coaches were satisfied with the effort â one that equated to a 45-34 victory in the Warriorsâ favor.
âI was very impressed, very impressed with the girlsâ energy,â said first-year coach Jayar Santos, who replaces longtime Warrior mentor Joe Handy.

December 9, 2011

CUMBERLAND â With a starting lineup comprised entirely of juniors, Cumberland head coach Gary Reedy believes that positive things are in store for his squad this winter.
The first step in the right direction took place Friday night with Cumberland disposing of Johnston, 69-60, in an Injury Fund non-league contest at the Wellness Center. Ben Bradley, one of those aforementioned 11th graders, led all scorers with 24 points while also contributing six rebounds and three steals.